Reply To: Women in Art

[Allie Eby]

From context, it seems fairly evident that in Etruscan culture, men and women – or at the very least, husbands and wives – were treated as approximate equals. This contrasts greatly with many previous cultures we have studied where women were treated as a lower caste, had less legal protections, and the fact that in some cases women did not even qualify as citizens. Etruscan art showing men and women engaging in activities together as equals supports this, as does the fact that women are credited for commissioning and gifting artwork. This implies that these women were financially independent, or financially stable and trusted enough by their spouses to commission artwork from others.